


To be Human is to Love

by duointherain



Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: M/M, spaceed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-11
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2019-03-16 21:18:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13644642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/duointherain/pseuds/duointherain
Summary: Duo and Heero are working a damaged part of their new colony, things go wrong.





	To be Human is to Love

To be Human is to Love  
by Max

Disclaimer: I don’t own Gundam Wing

Note: This is a scene from The Dirt Under Our Fingernails, or at least I think it will be, but the scene is so vivid in my head right now, I just have to write it and I can never be patient with anything. The title is from a song by Sia from the Wonder Woman movie. 

 

Duo waved his hand in front of the sensor and the door did nothing whatsoever. His cheeks filled with air and he turned to look at Heero apologetically. 

Heero, whose wrists were shackled by his own choice because his rage ability was beyond what he could deal with killing wasn’t something he wanted to wake up after, held a stack of parts that they were replacing. His nose wrinkled in disgust. “This ‘settlement’ is a disgrace.”

Air still in his cheeks, Duo scratched at his back with the edge of his thumb. “We fixin it,” Duo finally said. Duo scratched his head, fast and quick like. 

Heero’s head was shaved, the hair barely growing back in. “You HAVE lice.”

“AH do NOT,” Duo said, glaring at Heero. If his braid could have crawled into his shirt, it would have. “Gimme dat spanner.” 

“This section has taken battle damage. I am not sure it is worth salvage.” 

“We gonna need everything we can get. I don’wan be suckin’ Q’s dick forever.” Duo stared at the malfunctioning scanner. “This is where we’re gonna put the garden. We gon have a garden.”

“Let me look at it,” Heero said, almost pleading. 

“‘Ro, I’m good at what I do, ya know? There is nothing to be scared of. It’s just more empty, stale passages on the other side.” He held up both hands, fingers pointing at the ceiling. “You just wait! We gonna put in those artificial sun panels, get some water running! It’ll be a while till we have dirt, but it’s gonna be totally awesome!” 

Duo’s grin was bright, full of hope, this infection optimism that cracked Heero’s heart in ways he didn’t know how to deal with. If beauty was this something that when you looked at it, the world became a better place, the impossible seemed possible, and anyone could be saved, well, then Duo was beautiful, even if he had lice.  
“I know you’re good at what you do, Duo,” Heero said, putting the parts down by the wall. “There are few things I’d claim to be better at you than right now, but I’m linked to the ‘settlement’s’ AI and that just makes me faster, maybe a little safer. You do want me to feel useful, right?”

“Yeah,” Duo agreed. “You’re useful though, you know? Always, in all ways.”

Heero was already at the panel, very gently lifting it open. “As long as you feel that way, I’m good. This wiring,” Heero said, blue eyes narrowing. “It’s .... “ Heero froze, knowing it was already too late. trying to find the right words, to come up with a plan, it felt like slow motion when he turned to Duo.

The charges when off behind Duo, cutting through the outer hull like so much foil wrap. Shock hit Duo’s face in slow motion, lips parting, eyes going wide, in this little-boy-just-found-out-there’s-no-Santa-Claus-look. His shoulders hunched forward, arms flinging up as the rupture jerked him back, off his feet, even as Heero lunged for him. 

There wasn’t enough time or air to form words, but as Duo exhaled, letting the air out of his lungs, all the love he could fit into a wordless goodbye tried to reach back across the rupture. 

Seconds, and he thought, that as far as a death went, he could watch Heero reaching for him, love, deep and abiding, a powerful love on Heero’s face, and like, shit, it wasn’t like he wanted to die, but having Heero’s loving face be the last sight, well, that was okay. He was so glad, powerfully glad that they’d traded places. He didn’t think he could have handled standing on the deck as Heero floated into space. 

He couldn’t say it, but hoped Heero knew it was okay. He’d had everything. To have had the chance to love as deeply as he did, that wasn’t like everyone got that chance. 

Tears felt hot against his cheeks, drawn by inertia as he floated away from them, burning over his flash frozen cheeks. What the fuck was there to cry about. In a few more seconds it would be over. Duo closed his eyes, filled his thoughts with the love that had been in Heero’s face.

Seconds before, Heero ripped a cable straight through the wall. The shackles he’d been wearing were splinters on the ground. He wrapped the cable around his wrist, holding tight and ran, throwing himself into space, into the darkness where life did not pass easily. 

A second later he had Duo’s wrist. Those violet eyes opened, surprised, and Heero grinned, a huge and uncontrolled grin. Where there was Duo, there was life. With all his strength, he whipped Duo around, a micro orbital transfer and let go....

Duo’s velocity and trajectory would be better on his own. 

The cable jerked free from the wall and it wasn’t unexpected. It had served its purpose. 

Peace. He felt peace as he felt his fingers brush against Duo’s arm, as he let him go. To love is to be human. He had never been more human than that moment. It was worth it. 

Then Duo’s hand clamped down on his wrist, dragging him in the direction of the station. 

Panicked, Heero thrust the cable away, and that gave a tiny bit more momentum in the right direction. 

Feeling human didn’t feel nearly as glorious as he watched the sun burn Duo’s skin. 

If it had been anyone else, Heero thought, but as Duo grabbed the torn hull and pulled them the last bit back into the colony, Heero felt like he’d know it all along. Duo could do anything. 

Laying on the cold metal as the AI repaired the damage, Duo’s breath was asthmatic, miserable. 

“We will use robotic exploration tools from here on out,” Heero said firmly, laying on his back, fingers lacing with Duo’s. “This colony’s dangerous.”

“This is a settlement! We ain’t nobody’s fucking colony. Imperialistic bastards.” Duo groaned as he scooted closer. “Yeah. Robotic from here on out. OH, and Ah ain’t got no lice.”

“That’s true,” Heero agreed, siting so that Duo’s head was on his chest. “No more lice.”


End file.
